In the case of attaching a dicing tape to a semiconductor wafer during a semiconductor manufacturing process, for example, as shown in FIG. 17, a wafer 42 is placed on a base 41 and a tape 43 is pressed from above to be attached by a roller 44 having rubber attached to the surface thereof, a block having a cylindrical shape, or the like. However, since this method is carried out in the atmosphere, air is liable to be entrapped between the wafer 42 and the tape 43. When dicing (chip segmentation) is performed in such a state, cracking or chipping occurs in the chip.
In this regard, an attaching apparatus for attaching a tape under a vacuum environment is proposed. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a tape attaching apparatus 50 including a chamber 52 having an airtight space 51 formed therein; a rubber sheet 56 which partitions the airtight space 51 into first and second airtight spaces 53 and 54 and has an upper surface on which a wafer 55 is placed; a frame base 58 which holds a tape 57 above the rubber sheet 56; and first and second airflow paths 59 and 60 which respectively switch the first and second airtight spaces 53 and 54 into a vacuum/atmosphere state, as shown in FIG. 18.
In the tape attaching apparatus 50, the first and second airtight spaces 53 and 54 are brought into the vacuum state and only the second airtight space 54 is then switched to the state under atmospheric pressure, thereby producing a differential pressure between the first and second airtight spaces 53 and 54. This allows the rubber sheet 56 to expand to lift the wafer 55, thereby allowing the wafer 55 to contact an adhesive surface (back surface) of the tape 57. According to this tape attaching apparatus 50, it is possible to bond the tape 57 and the wafer 55 together under a vacuum environment, thereby preventing air from being entrapped between the tape and the wafer.